The Revolutionary's Wife
by ChuckyDoll
Summary: My name is Lisa and I am Caesar's mate – no, I am his wife. I was once a slave before he came along and led us out of captivity, but I had once experienced freedom before I was sent to what is now the Forbidden City of New York. Here is my story. (This is based off of Conquest Of The Planet Of The Apes, the third sequel of the original 1968 version)
1. Chapter 1

**This story is based off of Conquest Of The Planet Of The Apes, the fourth installment of the Planet of the Apes series. It will feature bits from the Battle Of The Planet Of The Apes, but only minor details.**

* * *

Caesar is still devastated by Cornelius's death. I guess I am too, but I have come to accept that anything you love can be taken away as quickly (or even more so) as it came into your life. I had learned that several years ago, when a human poacher killed my pregnant mother and shipped my older sister and I to what is now the Forbidden City. I had learned that again when my sister and I were separated and I was sold, first as a pet, and then as a slave. Oddly enough, it did not convince me, as it did Caesar, a decade ago, that human kindness was a myth. However, that's not to say that the human race had no ills. Every ape here has seen them firsthand.

Caesar and I are standing together as Cornelius, who had been only ten years old when he died, is cremated by our dear friend Virgil, an orangutan. I squeeze Caesar's hand and finally start to cry. I can't remember whether or not I cried when Caesar watched Cornelius take his last breath. I do know that this wasn't the first time Caesar had lost someone he loved. I remember once, he told me privately when I was first learning to speak in complete sentences (and I still wonder why that was previously a difficulty!), that he had once loved a human like a son would a father. He was a circus owner, Caesar told me, named Armando.

When I watched the smoke of the flames rise up into the clouds, I can't help but wonder what made Caesar believe in God. From what I remember, religion was something started by the humans for whatever purposes available, some of which I have yet to be aware of. Religion was for both good and evil. It started a slavery abolitionist movement (for humans some centuries ago), it gave other humans an excuse to kill in cold-blood, and it paved the way for both acceptance and prejudice. Whatever religion was for, it taught us that there was some deity watching us from the sky, taking care of his (or her) children, despite not always being successful at it. I had heard that the souls of the dead went to this deity in the end and I can't help but wonder what our little Cornelius would ask his Creator. Said Creator would answer questions neither Caesar nor I ever dreamt of being able to answer.

I look over to Caesar, who is incredibly close to weeping. I can't tell whether or not he had experienced pain more deep than this; he had been almost electrocuted at the hands of slave-owners, he had witnessed the awful horrors at the now destroyed Ape Management center, and he had learned of Armando's suicide. He looks at me, I can tell he loves me, and then he peers at the body of Aldo, the gorilla responsible for Cornelius's death.

I think the most surprising thing that Caesar had faced with Aldo was the realization that apes and humans can be equally cruel. Strangely, I had come to such a realization a decade ago, with the exception that I thought that both apes and humans can be equally loving, hateful and complex. As I stand here, with Caesar's hand wrapped around mine, I can't help but remember when Caesar had spent days pacing in our home, cursing Aldo for forcing him to learn such a harsh reality. I think it was either Virgil, the orangutan, or MacDonald, the human, that eventually snapped him out of it.

Finally, Cornelius's body is gone and his spirit is in the sky with the mysterious, benign deity and all the other dead. He is now probably meeting the original Cornelius and Zira, who must have asked him about their son, his father. I stop my thoughts immediately when Caesar bitterly grimaces at the sight of Aldo's body being tossed around like it was worthless until the body was no longer recognizable. I felt a little sorry for Aldo, but that was probably because I was incapable of feeling the absolute pure rage that could take ahold of Caesar if it was strong enough.

Once the funeral ceremony is over, Caesar and I retreat to our home. I immediately go to the bedroom we shared and think about when we first made our little boy. It was there when I, as many others apes finally could, conceived someone out of love rather than for simple production of more potential slaves, like we had done in the past. After all, I am sure that I, too, was conceived out of love.

Caesar distracts himself by listing off potential candidates for the new military leader, now that Aldo is gone. He has often disassociated himself like this; I'm sure we all have at some point if we had wanted to survive the awful world created by slaving owning humans. I wait and I try to fall asleep until Caesar finally finishes whatever his business was and returns to our room, sitting on the bed with his back toward me.

I touch his arm and he looks at me without saying a word. Neither of us speak; instead, we resort to the silent expressions that we gave each other before he would dare speak (and before I even could!), lest he be executed. Finally, he holds my hand and we lie down on the bed, looking but not really looking at each other.

I can't help but to think that he has told me so much of his past and his emotions, yet I haven't told him anything about the time before we met. There is so much he doesn't know and, when he finally falls asleep from grief, I get up from the bed and go to a little desk in the other room. I light an oil lamp and take out a journal that Caesar had got me once for my birthday (though I can't be sure if it's my birthday, as no one was there to record it when I was born in the jungles of Africa). Finally, I pick up a pen and write down what I remember of my life. I do this for Caesar, as saying my story aloud would prove too difficult, and I do this for anyone that picks up my journal and for anyone who wants to understand the once primitive ape. I sigh and I write down my first words.

My name is Lisa. This is my story.


	2. Chapter 2

I remember being born on the west coast of Africa. There, we did not need names. We knew each other by sight, by scent, by touch, by sound, and by our instinctual love for one another. This was especially true between mothers and their children. I can still smell my mother's scent as I think about it. I can remember my sister's scent and her loud cries as well.

For most of my time in our natural habitat, my mother nursed me and my older sister would play with me. As I grew older, they would both teach me how to swing from tree to tree, how to use sticks to fish out termites from hard-to-reach places (and humans thought we couldn't use tools!), and how to look out for one another. My yearning to become independent of my mother grew stronger, as did her tendency to become protective of me, and I tried to do more things on my own. I became somewhat of an expert at fishing out termites, and due to my pride concerning this skill, it had become my favorite thing to do. Sometimes my sister would protest, as she was not so good at it, and I would cackle playfully, much to the amusement of my dear mother.

During the later part of my time in the African jungles, I became more aware of how we were actually made. My mother managed to woo the alpha male (which wasn't so difficult among chimpanzees. All she had to do was show him her swollen genitals) and they readily mated right in front of everyone. Only subordinate males mated in secret, as not to anger the alpha male. I couldn't help but wonder if their child was going to be male or female. Over a span of some months, my mother's abdomen started to grow. She still nursed me and I wondered how her body was managing to care for two children. My sister would try to stop me from nursing when she saw that my mother was tired. After that, we would help our mother find luscious fruits and the best termites to feed her unborn child.

We also helped her build nests in the trees so she could rest. My favorite part about my mother being pregnant was placing my tiny hand on her abdomen and feeling something inside there kick. The first time I felt it, I squealed, and my older sister rubbed my back, as if signaling for me to be quiet. Of course, my mother was asleep at the time. However, that child was never born because of one particularly awful day.

My mother, sister and I were up in the trees when strange looking creatures (that I now know are humans) came with weapons previously unknown to us. When my mother saw them, she gathered my sister and I and we used the trees to attempt to flee. However, the humans drove us to the edge of the forest and we had to leave our arboreal haven. So, we climbed down and ran from them in the plains, where they had the advantage, and I heard gunshots fire, not knowing what they meant. As I had no previous experience with humans, I had not known that those guns could send nearly invisible little tools to kill others from a distance. Our kind had no equivalent in terms of weaponry.

My sister and I ran as fast as we could when our mother mysteriously fell down, bleeding out of a tiny hole in her body. Shocked, I ran back to our mother, but my sister pulled me back, indicating that we had to flee, lest we be killed as well. When most of our group had been killed, the remaining survivors were locked up. My sister and I were separated and I shook against the bars of the cage, trying to break them loose while I screamed for my sister. I saw her weeping in the distance as her cage was propped up in a trunk of a large vehicle of some sort (that I later learned was a truck). My cage was roughly handled when it was placed in another trunk and I felt myself move away from the jungle that was my home for most of what had been my life.

The ride to our first destination was bumpy. There, they separated which chimps were to be eaten and which were going to be shipped overseas. I saw my dead mother being dragged to a slaughterhouse without a roof and a butcher cut her open. The butcher removed the fetus from her lower abdomen. I shrieked at the sight. Those who poached us for meat would have taken me for food had my cage not been taken to another truck so I could be sent to a port.

Once we were at the port, we were all separated and placed into slightly larger crates. Once that was done, the humans put our crates into the storage area of a large water vehicle, which I now know is a "ship". My sister was placed on a different ship, so when my crate was being manhandled, I thought that that was the last time I would see my sister. I started to shriek, but the humans shook my cage, indicating that I should shut up. I stopped and they started to be more careful with my cage, so I knew to stay silent.

It took several days for us to get to New York from West Africa. During the trip, I would never be let out of my cage. I, as well as many others, would get very anxious and pace around in our cages for hours on end. Humans only stopped to feed us bits of food here and there, just enough to keep us nourished. I wanted to scowl at them, but then (at least I assumed so) they would stop bringing me food. I was having enough problems as it is.

Throughout my trip, I would spend some of my hours pacing. The other hours I would spend rocking, rubbing my arms, and trying to pretend that I was with my mother and sister in the luscious jungles I had been born in. I would close my eyes and pretend that I am making my sister jealous with my expertise in termite gathering. Oftentimes, I would have nightmares of that butcher tearing out the fetus that belonged to my mother. During the day, I would dream about putting the fetus back, repairing my mother, and bringing her back to life so she could birth my long-awaited sibling. I cried so often in that cage, wishing that there was something my baby sibling could have mastered that would have filled me with playful envy.

One day, I heard a low-pitched horn that startled all of the apes on board. I was quite startled too, but I didn't see the point in shaking against the bars of the cage. They were too strong for me to break them and run free.

The humans started to gather our cages and get them out of the ship. We were transported to the dock and I saw a large, blue statue of a human female holding up a torch. This female was far out into the sea and I later learned that this was the Statue of Liberty.

Liberty, I now reflect as I write this, something that was taken away from me when my mother was killed.

Something I would not have for a very long time.


	3. Chapter 3

Our cages are transported to the center of New York. I kept looking around for that other ship, hoping that I would see my sister again, and I eventually gave up, as I could no longer see the port. The roads here were smoother than they were back in Africa, but everything was less colorful. All of the tall structures were gray and rectangular, the roads were about the same color, and all of the inhabitants seemed emotionally cold. They all wore different arrangements of cloth than the humans back in Africa. There, the pieces of cloth were dirty, torn, and had a natural scent of human body odor. Here, they smelled of artificial substances, were tailored a certain way, and made the humans seem to have odd proportions. The females' shoulders were larger than I remember and men's bodies seem to be a perfect rectangle with a head attached. Some of the men here wore odd things attached to their necks. I noticed that the women did too, except their neck-things were shiny.

The activity of the humans here made me anxious and I tried to go as far away from them as my cage allowed me. I covered my face and my ears, trying to pretend I wasn't there. I cried out for my sister, getting the attention of several humans as the handlers organized the cages in rows in the Plaza. Humans were invited to look at each of us. I still thought of my mother's death and I wondered if these humans had the same intentions as the one that chopped up my mother and her unborn baby. I started to shake around in my cage, hoping to break free, when a human put it back in its proper place. I started rolling around in fear.

Three humans, a man, a woman, and a female child, walked up to my cage. The female child kneeled down and peered at me, revealing her teeth and the corners of her lips pulled back. For chimpanzees like me, this would have indicated fear. Why would she be afraid of one restrained in a cage? The female child started to make odd, staccato vocalizations while maintaining the same expression. The child confused me, so I directed my attention to the woman with the big head-hair. She, too, made a similar expression and her lips were unnaturally red. This frightened me, as the only thing I could think of that was such a color was blood, so I moved my attention to the man, who had a stern expression and haunting eyes. I crawled backward, going as far away as my cage would allow, and I watched as the man made a call to another human, who was managing all the apes in the Plaza.

The man and the other human were exchanging eloquent, discordant vocalizations, making odd hand gestures. Their fingers, I noticed, were particularly dexterous. The female child still had her attention toward me and stuck a finger near the bars of my cage. I poked her finger and she retracted it, making the odd staccato vocalizations she had made earlier when she bared her teeth.

Soon enough, the man used a pen to scribble something on a rectangular piece of paper and gave it to the other human. The man said something to the little girl, who clapped for some odd reason, and the little girl started making higher pitched sounds toward me. As my cage was handled and placed in an odd vehicle (that I later learned was a car), the girl's attention span ran its course, and she paid more attention to scribbling things on paper.

The three humans later took my cage out of the car and placed it inside a large, permanent construct that I learned was a _house_. When the woman and the female child were putting my cage on a soft carpet, the man placed a small _key_ in a hole in the _door_. As I was let out of the cage, I realized that I could decode the odd vocalizations, as they all referred to something. Soon enough, the three humans were gathered around me.

"Oh-say-AHN," said the woman. Oceane. Those sounds refer to her.

"Ax-el," said the juvenile female. Axelle. Those sounds refer to her.

"–Ames," said the male. Shames? Zhames?

"James," said the male. Oh. _James_. I get it now. "James Breck."

How many sounds does he refer to himself with? I shook my head in confusion, glad that I knew the sounds referring to the females. Their expressions were odd, but their eyes seemed warm enough for members of this odd species. Oceane looked at Axelle and embraced her with one arm. I recognized the message Oceane gave to Axelle with her eyes. My mother had given me that look on several occasions, especially when she was feeding me. I wondered how often Oceane fed Axelle in such a manner when Oceane turned to me and said three sounds that, oddly enough, I understood.

"Welcome home," she said.

Lies.


	4. Chapter 4

**"I'm going to have to revive a charming tradition established in a lifetime by my dear wife and let you name yourself." Governor Breck, Conquest of the Planet of the Apes, Scene 11**

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Oceane brought out a strange object, which I later learned was a _book_, and opened it. She grabbed some pages and moved them to the other side of the book, repeating this at least three times. She then placed her finger in the middle of one of the pages before closing the book and handing it to me. Wondering what value there was in doing such a thing, I mimicked the action, unknowingly giving myself my very first name.

"Es-ter," Oceane read. Esther.

I couldn't decide whether I should remember the man by the call "James" or by "Breck". After trying to remember the distinct sounds, I chose to use the latter. It proved to be a good choice, as I later learned that more humans were remembering him by that call (or _name_) as well. I also learned that it's best to stay away from Breck. That, too, proved to be a good choice.

For now, Breck seemed docile enough, but his expression still intimidated me, so I stuck with Oceane and Axelle, whom I assumed to be her daughter. Axelle bent down to stroke my fur while Oceane went to her odd little bag and brought out a diaper. At first, I had no idea what that thing was, so I hid behind Axelle. The little girl laughed at me, picking me up and giving me to her mother. Oceane put the diaper on me, careful to put it on backwards so that I couldn't remove it. After spending a substantial amount of time in it, I grew accustomed to it.

The only thing I didn't like about the diaper was the way it felt after I had defecated. As a result, I had refused to do even that, and I later got constipation. When Oceane learned about this, she had given me special medicine, which had tasted awful. She would have to pry my mouth open in order to get me to take the stuff. Even then, I was tempted to spit it out.

Axelle was the first to attempt to potty-train me. When I first saw the toilet, I thought I had found a secret source of water, and Axelle had caught me attempting to drink out of it. She taught me that the toilet was a place for humans to defecate, which I thought was absurd. Why defecate in perfectly good water?

This, too, I had become accustomed to doing. The more time I spent with these humans, the more I was forgetting about my homeland in Africa. I was afraid that I would lose my skill in gathering termites, so whenever I could, I would practice using straight, long things to fetch things out of reach. Axelle quickly saw this and decided to make it into a game.

Axelle once perched a piece of an orange on top of a ceiling fan. I first grabbed a sharp stick that Axelle found in one of the drawers (she used this to roast little white puffs called _marshmallows _over the stove) and proceeded to climb on top of some furniture. Finally, I leaped on top of a large wardrobe for the television and tried to poke the stick through the orange slice. I realized that I was closer to pushing it to the ground (a place I didn't want to go back to just yet), so I pushed the thing against the base of the ceiling fan, successfully poking through the piece, and I brought the orange slice back. I ate the prize with triumph.

Back on the ground, Axelle was clapping, and I took this as an expression of praise. I immediately jumped to the ground, causing it to shake a bit, and I looked around for any sign of Breck. He usually gets mad about stuff like this. I had never actually been hit by him, but he definitely has aggressive tendencies.

Luckily, Breck was not around, so I relaxed. For the first time, Axelle trusted me enough to take me up to her room. I saw that the walls were blue and the floor was a soft brown carpet. I rolled around on it, humoring Axelle, and I saw a picture hanging on the wall. It was of a dense forest with no humans to be seen for miles and I immediately got up, placing my hand against the glass.

I had no idea what Axelle said to me, other than that it had the world "home" in it and the intonation was that of an inquiry of some sort. I started to whimper and I crawled on Axelle's bed, burying my muzzle into the soft sheets. My hands moved about until my fingers came across something hard and long and I grabbed it. It was the handle to a mirror, which I looked into and learned two things.

One, the ape in the mirror was me.

Two, I was the spitting image of my mother.

Speaking of mothers, Oceane came into Axelle's room, her face puffy and red, and sat down on the bed next to us. She pulled up the sleeves of her blue sweater and I saw a large bruise, wondering if Breck had inflicted that on her. I feared that it was my fault, as neither Axelle nor I thought to clean up the slight mess we made in the living room.

Did Oceane fight back? If an alpha male, who must have been my father, ever did that to my mother or her two children, she would have fought back with whatever strength she had in order to protect us. Why didn't Oceane protect herself? Humans are strange.

As Oceane held Axelle close, I had the most disturbing thought about Breck. Now that I knew Breck had no reservations against beating his own mate, he would have no reason not to hurt Axelle or myself. Neither Oceane nor Axelle would be able to protect me.

I took Axelle's pillow, placed it over my head, and cried for my mother.


	5. Chapter 5

Over a period of time, I saw more bruises show up on Oceane's arms. Each night, Axelle and I would hide in her room while we would listen to the strange barking noises humans made to one another when they were angry. Axelle would try to block it out by allowing a _radio_ to play _music_ loudly. I had grown accustomed to this tendency, so I naturally equated music to escape from the horror just outside one's door. To this day, whenever I hear any older human make references to music, I think of that frightened little girl who wanted to shut out her father's rage.

After the screaming would die down, Axelle would raise up one finger, then two, then three, until all ten fingers were up. Then, she would start again, accept she would mutter longer sounds when she restarted. I learned later that she was counting, but what she was counting, I never got the chance to figure out. How many times she would do this per night would vary greatly, so I had a hard time keeping track. Eventually, though, she would just squeeze me the way she would squeeze a stuffed toy. I would have protested through shrieking, except that such a thing would alert Breck, which Axelle dreaded.

This went on for what I can now assume was about a year. During the day, for some days, Axelle would leave for a large portion of the day, carrying a two-strapped bag with her. In it, she would carry books and other devices that one would never see in my homeland. I would always wonder where she went during these hours, but I wouldn't dare follow her, for fear of punishment. If Oceane couldn't defend herself, then neither could I. I could find places to hide from Breck, but I couldn't possibly fight back.

Some time during when all of this went on, Breck would have people package various items in his house. He started to train me to do menial work as well. I recall one incident quite clearly; I was placing items in a cardboard box when Brent barked something quite clearly, which I understood was a command.

"No, Esther, no!" he shouted, his finger pointed at me and his face contorted with anger.

He then hit my arm and placed the items in the box himself, growling with anger. I couldn't wait until Axelle got home.

"James Breck," said a peculiarly dark man with even darker, curly hair.

I don't know what else the dark-skinned man said to Breck, but I heard the name Oceane, so I guessed that whatever he said pertained to her. I saw Breck frown, but I couldn't tell if Breck was experiencing sadness or was merely scowling. The dark-skinned man said something else to make Breck's expression soften. Breck chuckled a bit and patted the man on the back. From what I saw in their clothing, I assumed they were of similar status.

"Malcolm MacDonald," I heard Breck call the dark man.

The dark man ignored him, instead paying attention to me. He extended a hand slowly and I tapped the middle of it, understanding it as a kind gesture. He softly scratched the side of my face before leaving to assist Breck. I trotted near the door to see that the packages were being placed in a large truck, right when Oceane and Axelle were coming home.

I started to bounce excitedly at the sight of Axelle, who ran toward me with a smile. Oceane still wore long sleeves, probably to hide the bruises, and she greeted MacDonald. MacDonald smiled at her, which made Breck scowl a bit, and Oceane flinched while holding her abdomen. Assuming she was in pain, I crawled up to her side to check on her, but she softly pushed me away. Axelle motioned for me to go up to her room.

We both went up and closed the door. I sat on her bed, waiting for her to push a button on her radio (which, of course, she did), and soon enough, she started singing and slowly dancing. I wondered what use this had for humans, but I pushed the thought away, as I was more concerned with why the humans downstairs were putting things in boxes.

I decided to get on the floor and spin around nonsensically as well. Everything became blurry and I started to get dizzy, much to Axelle's amusement. After I fell down, I tried to decipher the human sounds in the song, noticing that they sounded similar to Oceane's voice. I decided that some human things weren't so bad.

"Esther," Axelle called me.

I struggled to stand on two legs while Axelle decided to hold my hands. She stepped to the left, then to the right, confusing me in terms of where to go. After a minute or two, I gave up and landed on my bottom, frustrated. Axelle chuckled and stroked my fur. I was glad it was just the two of us in the room with the music on. Now that I think about it, Axelle somewhat reminded me of my older sister. Where was she now?

She poked me and I fell back, letting her laugh at my mannerisms, and I hoped that I wouldn't have to leave this room and face her father any time soon. Sadly, I did, and before I knew it, I was saying goodbye to this room forever.

I was put in a cage and placed in a car. Axelle was the first to comfort me while we were in the car. She would poke her finger through the cage and whisper in a soothing voice until Oceane came in. To my surprise, Oceane told Axelle sternly to stop and Axelle pouted in the backseat. Last one to come in the car was Breck, who was grumbling about something. Both Oceane and Axelle recoiled. In attempt to ignore everything, I tried to fall asleep.

I must have slept through the entire ride because, before I knew it, we arrived at an even bigger house with many levels. There were several humans guarding the place, but they let us in with smiles, so I assumed that this new place was for us now. Breck held Oceane's hand, smiling at her, but she did not return the expression. I wondered if the other humans knew about the bruises on her arms and whether or not they condoned such a thing.

I couldn't remember much about the time we spent transitioning into that new home, except for the fact that Oceane was getting weaker, so Breck hit her less and less. As a result, Axelle hid from him more and more and Oceane was leaving more often to a place that I learned was a "hospital". This "Weak Oceane" phase extended for months. Meanwhile, I became less of a pet and more of a device for free labor.

Breck had MacDonald train me for basic tasks, most of which I was able to master with relative ease. MacDonald, unlike Breck, was unfathomably gentle (for a human) and kind. If I did something wrong, he would say "no" gently before showing how to do it right. He never used intimidation unless there was something that proved dangerous for me. Meanwhile, Breck was incredibly busy, as many humans started to demand his attention. From what I understood at that point, he had become the human version of the Alpha Male.

The only time I could remember Oceane actually being in that large mansion was when she was in her bedroom alone. She was staring at herself in the mirror, brushing her disappearing her, and saying "Oceane Amere" several times. I assumed that "Amere" was another call that humans used to reference her, but I had never heard it prior to the incident. After she had said that phrase several times, she started to weep. Though I wanted to wipe her tears, I knew I could not help here, so I turned away and went back to training with MacDonald.

Slowly, more restrictions were being placed on me. Now there were doors marked; some with orange diamonds, others with orange diamonds crossed out by a black X. I was trained to learn that the doors marked with a black X were forbidden to me. Since I was under the eye of MacDonald, I was not subjected to the same treatment that I soon found other apes under. I only worked inside the mansion, so I hardly saw the outside world.

I saw Axelle cry whenever she saw signs of Oceane deteriorating and eventually becoming bedridden. I would want to comfort her, but I always had to work, so I could do little more than give Axelle a reassuring glance. This did little to comfort Axelle the morning that Oceane did not wake up.

There was a ceremony of some sort held at the mansion. Many people came and many apes were ordered around. Some apes gave food to humans, others helped set up, but overall, we were not allowed to bother the humans. The only human I would interact with was Axelle or a young girl she was sitting next to named Julie. Julie came across me when she left the rows of chairs in order to get some food. Julie was still very small at the time, yet she was the one asking me to get her _that_ drink and reaching for _that_ plate. She would thank me politely, never knowing that years from then, the tables would be turned.

After the ceremony, MacDonald ordered me to fetch some food for a table nearby, giving me some raisins as a reward. I ate them all in one gulp and fetched a few plates, all with specific serving sizes for each type of food. Expertly handling them, I brought them to the table I was ordered to go to. There was a young man with a blonde lady on his arm, laughing at whatever he was saying. MacDonald appeared, making conversation with the two as I handed them their plates, nodding politely.

"Douglas and Donna Riley," MacDonald said.

I looked at the blond woman, who seemed to be of high status, not knowing that she would become my master at some point. She didn't seem particularly kind, so I left to busy myself with other duties. One of those duties was Axelle.

Over time, Breck's behavior with Axelle changed. He was more malevolent with her, but he did not resort to hitting yet. If he ever needed to hit something, he would strike one of the apes unfortunate enough to be in close proximity to him. A few times, that ape was me, but I learned quickly to stay far away from him when he was in a particularly awful mood.

One night, Axelle had allowed me to stay in her room. She was listening to that song she used to listen to at the old house when she heard loud footsteps (I assumed they belonged to Breck). Immediately, she pushed me into her closet and locked it. I attempted to get out, afraid of what would happen, when Breck opened the door, his mannerisms particularly clumsy. His eyes were somewhat dazed and he was a little bit sweaty. His speech was slurred (even one who could not understand language very well could tell!) and he bumped into the door as he tried to close it. Axelle was very afraid, as far as I could tell.

I couldn't stand what I saw next. Breck started to restrain Axelle, silencing her and touching her all over. I could tell she wanted to cry, to hit back and run away from this hell. Breck did things I never thought fathers would do with daughters, causing me to want to break out of the closet, daze Breck, and get Axelle out of there.

Unfortunately, I couldn't, and all I could do was crawl to the back of the closet while Axelle took the brunt of Breck's desire.


	6. Chapter 6

I stop writing for now, as the memories are becoming too much. Julie, my servant, is finishing up our laundry. She removes Cornelius's clothes and places them in a box. I can't help but shed a tear. I quickly wipe it, remembering seeing Julie at Oceane's funeral when she was just about four years old and I was about ten. I'm sure Julie does not remember. She smiles at me and announces that she is retiring for the night. I thank her for her service and close my journal for now.

I can hear Caesar coming out of our bedroom. I don't turn around; instead, he comes up behind me and rubs my shoulders. I'm sure he's going to ask what I'm doing up so late.

"Not like you to stay up so late, Lisa," Caesar whispers, nudging his muzzle against her ear.

"That's normally your job," I reply.

"Come back to bed," he says to me with a chuckle.

I get up and follow him back to our room. He closes the door, ensuring our privacy, not that anyone would barge in on us in the middle of the night. Everyone knew better to do that to a leader and his queen.

I look around the room. It's not exactly the jungles of Africa, but its homey. We were still safe and warm. Too warm, now that I think about it. I want to sleep naked, but Caesar would think it strange (not to mention he would get the impression that I want to copulate). Sometimes Caesar is too human for my taste.

He wraps his arm around me and tries to get me to sleep, but I am still a bit restless. I want to open a window, maybe look outside or even climb out onto a tree just to see if I can still climb. I cannot tell if Caesar can figure out my reasons for my restlessness, but I can tell he is trying to get it to stop. He rubs my back as I face him, hoping that I would remain calm. I pretend to do so and he seems satisfied. Eventually, we both fall asleep.

The following morning, a woman named Heather arrives at our door with a basket of fruit. Caesar accepts the gift as the woman murmurs her condolences. She leaves and Caesar sets the basket on his desk. He returns to work.

I decide to take a walk, hoping that no one would offer their condolences. I heard them quite enough during Cornelius's funeral. I walk near the edge of our little town and am approached by Virgil.

"How is Caesar?" Virgil asks.

"Keeps his grief to himself, like always," I reply.

Virgil chuckles nervously. "When one is a king, he thinks he cannot show weakness, lest his power falter."

"Would the same apply to his queen?"

"That I'd have to learn from you, dear Lisa," Virgil replies. "May I ask you a question?"

"You just did."

We both smile and then laugh inappropriately, considering this is a time for grief. The death of an heir is never a time to laugh, yet the wise orangutan and I were hurting our lungs and muzzles due to our amusement. Virgil is a short, pudgy little thing, so whenever he is even slightly amused, his whole body shakes. The sight makes me laugh more.

"May I ask you a question other than the one being asked now?" Virgil corrects himself between chuckles.

"Okay, okay," I reply, still laughing.

"Why do you keep your slave name?"

I stop in my tracks, thinking of my years of oppression. The death of my mother, the ripping of her unborn child, the separation from my sister, and the unfathomable nature of the humans. I think of Breck, the cruelest of humans, and I wonder why other humans were willing to let him rule. I think of Mrs. Riley, the woman who gave me my slave name. I shudder at the memories.

"Because I can't pretend to forget," I answer. "It seems as if everyone here wants to put the past behind them. The gorillas especially failed at that. Why do you ask?"

"Other apes have wondered the same thing about you," Virgil replies. "They'd think that such a move is antithetical to the position of a queen."

"I have no ruling power," I tell him. "I'm simply mated to Caesar."

"Married," he corrects me.

"According to humans," I reply, looking at the distant trees that I want to climb oh-so-badly. "But not to me. I am mated with him. Marriage is a religious rite invented by humans. Mating, however, has existed much longer than any social construct."

"It is pure," replies Virgil. He knows me too well.

We both look at the apes and humans working alongside each other. The apes' clothes were cleaner that those of humans, as they did less menial work. Abe the human was teaching the young apes and some older gorillas basic reading and writing. After Aldo's death, Caesar let Abe teach young humans as well. It turned out that the older humans had taught their children in secret. Abe and I still treat the matter as a tongue-in-cheek joke.

The gorillas had mellowed out by then, no longer being fed Aldo's fervor. The older gorillas were becoming more tolerant of their children playing with juvenile humans. I see Cornelius's old human friend, Jimmy, playing with a gorilla named Faustina. I remember Faustina being much kinder to humans than other gorillas of her age. Scenes like this make me hopeful of peaceful coexistence.

"Tell me, Lisa, why you agreed to marry Caesar," Virgil says.

"Because I wanted to be his mate," I answer. "Mating is sacred to me, and marriage to him. An equal trade, in my opinion."

Virgil spies Caesar talking with Bruce, a dark skinned man whom I know as Malcolm MacDonald's brother. Bruce was one of the few humans who held any sort of influence, other than Abe the Teacher. I can tell which humans have any sort of privilege by whether or not they wear pre-Revolution clothes. Why Caesar thought this okay seemed unusual, as he wanted no species to have superiority over another.

"I can safely guess that you think, sometimes, Caesar acts too human."

"I think most apes do, nowadays," I tell Virgil. "In the children, it's understandable. But the adults? Have they forgotten the years before their enslavement?"

"For some, those years did not exist."

It is about midday and I'm sure Caesar is expecting me to accompany him for lunch. I spy some bugs crawling on a tree trunk and think of the days when I made my sister jealous due to being better at fishing out termites to snack on. I know termites won't be on the menu today. Caesar and I will very likely be consuming the fruit that Heather had given us this morning.

"Do you remember those years?" I ask Virgil.

"Oh, yes, I do," he replies. "I lived in Borneo. Us orangutans were loners back then. Gave me much time to think."

"Does that explain your genius?"

Virgil lets out a lighthearted laugh and we stop right beside the school. Abe smiles at us before he dismisses his students for lunch. He takes some nuts out of his pocket, looking around as if he had secretly consumed bootleg meat. I chuckle at the sight.

"I lived in Africa," I tell him. "I think I lived in a place called Cote d'Ivoire, but I'm not sure. I just guessed that from the maps."

Abe gets up to greet us. I can tell that he has just shaved this morning; his chin in inexplicably smooth and smelled like some sort of foaming cream he used. His sideburns remained, as it was a strange style he was fond of. His hair was cut short and slightly styled, giving off an air of human sophistication. To most apes, though, this looked ridiculous.

"Hello, Virgil," he greets. "And to you, Lisa, I offer my condolences."

"Is it not time for lunch?" I ask, changing the subject.

Us three head to the center of town, where some humans and apes are eating together. Mandemus, an orangutan who had guarded the arsenal, was giving some fruit to a little human girl. Abe goes to greet some other humans and I notice that one female is flirting with him. I wonder whether Abe prefers mating or marriage.

"Why did Mandemus choose his name?" I ask Virgil.

"Mandamus," Virgil mutters to himself. "A judicial remedy — in the form of an order from a superior court, to any government subordinate court — to do, or forbear from doing, some specific act which that body is obliged under law to do, or refrain from doing — and which is in the nature of public duty, and in certain cases one of a statutory duty."

"This is the part where Caesar asks you to repeat yourself in words even _he_ can understand."

Just then, I see Caesar going to our home. I sigh, wishing I could stay with Virgil for a bit longer, but I know Caesar would want me at home with him.

"I have to go, Virgil," I tell him. "You know how Caesar gets."

Virgil nods and I go back to my shared home. Caesar is waiting for me at a small dining table, picking out fruit from the basket we received earlier. I sit down across from him and take out an orange. It tastes sweet enough.

"Good fruit Heather picked out," Caesar mutters.

Neither of us talk about Cornelius.

"Hmm," I sigh.

When we finish eating, Caesar smiles at me before he looks over some parchment documents. What they contain, I don't know. I hug him from behind and he wraps an arm around my waist. We nudge heads for a moment before he looks outside, seeing a gorilla and a human quarrel. I notice that they are the fathers of Faustina and Jimmy.

"Lisa..."

"Go, Caesar. I understand."

He nods and leaves. I eye my journal and, after deciding that I can confront my memories once again, decide to write.


	7. Chapter 7

For a couple years, Breck's sick abuse of Axelle went on. Axelle became more reclusive and angry as a result. Once, she had slapped me for breaking something that belonged to her, but she cried deeply afterward. I almost saw Breck in her when she had struck me. I guessed that was why she was crying.

During my time in that mansion, I worked alongside a young orangutan named Jack. We would organize various items and run errands for our masters. Oftentimes, I would help him with tasks that he didn't do so well. His master was somewhat cruel, though not to the degree that Breck was. Nevertheless, I did my best to protect little Jack. I didn't think it fair for him to be beat for something he doesn't understand. As a result, I would always have two or three bruises on my body somewhere from his master and occasionally one larger bruise from Breck. I had to learn ways to do my tasks without applying pressure to these bruises. I learned quickly, so this wasn't a problem.

One day, I was playing with Axelle in her room, as I had been excused by MacDonald (Jack's master, Mr. Harrison, did not oversee us that day). She was playing that same silly song on her radio that she did everyday. Axelle looked at pictures of Oceane when she did this and I could tell that she missed her dearly. Such things made me think of my mother. We sat there, weeping together, until Axelle heard Breck's footsteps to her room. She immediately shoved me in her closet and I knew what was going to happen.

Breck came stumbling in and Axelle wiped her tears, trying not to show any sign of distress. He immediately lunged for her and stripped her of her clothes when I started to bang on the closet door. Axelle forgot to lock it, so I managed to burst out of the closet and lunged for Breck. I only intended for him to get off of her, so I did just that, and I threw a blanket at Axelle so she could cover herself. I tried to get her to leave the room, but Breck threw me out before I could grab Axelle's hand, and I remained outside while the cries of that human girl barely permeated the room. I tried to open the door again, but Breck had locked it.

During the day, I would notice Axelle following me around when I did my slave duties alongside Jack. I would try to distract Jack so he wouldn't mistakenly point out Axelle's location, as I assumed that she was hiding from her father. Strangely enough, Breck had been going out more often. From where I was standing, there were posters with his face on them in various locations of the city. I never learned why Breck did this, but I guessed that he liked being seen a whole lot. I didn't ever had time to really think about this, as my masters expected me to work, not to think.

Sometime that year, Axelle woke me up in the middle of the night.

"Esther," she whispered my first slave name. "Wake up."

I groaned a bit when I woke up. I saw that she had a large bundle packed, wondering what was in it, when she dragged me out of my sleeping quarters. We tiptoed through the halls of the mansion, hoping not to wake up Breck (wherever he was), and Axelle led me to a room that had a diamond crossed out on it. The crossed out diamond meant I couldn't go in. Axelle pulled out a key and unlocked the door, slipping through it gracefully. I took a peek inside and saw that Axelle was working on some medium sized machine. The screen on it displayed a picture of me with some letters printed by it (I later learned that that was my name). Axelle pressed a button and my picture disappeared before she made the screen go black. Finally, we left that hall, later escaping the mansion.

Axelle and I took a route that bypassed the Central Plaza. I ran a bit slowly, as I was still tired from yesterday's work, but Axelle urged me on. We had to pass through many places in this city. I had to say goodbye to the area in which the "upper" humans lived, which I was glad to do, but I felt fear for both Axelle and myself. What would we do from here?

We stopped somewhere where the buildings were smaller and she hurriedly changed out of whatever clothes she had on. She took out some fresh clothes from the bundle she packed and put her other clothes back in it before we found a concealed place to sleep. I saw that no security guards would find us here and quickly dozed off, leaning on Axelle for comfort.

The next morning, I woke up to Axelle organizing small pieces of fruit for me to eat. She took out a bag of dried meat (which I later learned was "jerky") for herself. I saw that I got less food than usual, but I didn't get angry at Axelle for it because she was eating even less food than I. She ate without speaking a word.

We stayed in that location for a number of days before we had to move on to another part of the city. This new place seemed awfully dingy for a human settlement and I often tried to block my nose so I wouldn't have to smell anything. Axelle often kept me on a leash, which I didn't understand, but I trusted her. Unleashed apes were often punished anyway, so I had little desire to remove it.

During the day, she would go to some human behind a table with food on it. I would see her exchange pieces of printed paper and some round metal coins for some of the items on the table. I wondered what worth those things she used had, but I didn't learn until much later in the future. In any case, it wouldn't serve much use to an ape like myself.

Some time after we had run away from Breck's mansion, Axelle had come close to running out of those pieces of paper and coins. Somehow, though, I would wake up in the morning to see that Axelle had gained some. It had taken a couple of days for me to learn how she did this and after I learned how, I sincerely wished I hadn't seen any of it.

One night, I had pretended to sleep while Axelle went off somewhere. She had tied my leash to a post, but I managed to undo it (though I struggled greatly, as my fingers were not as dexterous as they are now). I followed her, careful to conceal myself in case anyone saw me, and I saw her go to a nearby port. There was a motel of some sort across the street from the dock, where Axelle seemed to have been waiting for someone, and I watched as a burly man approached her with some "money". Axelle nodded and took the man into the motel. I crept after her, making sure she didn't see me, and I saw the pair take refuge in a room with a broken lock. Afraid of what I would find, I waited about a few minutes before I crept up to the door, pushing it open and making it creak.

I saw the burly man supposedly mating with Axelle and ran to the lobby, barfing before I was chased out of the motel.


	8. Chapter 8

Axelle got money from men in this fashion for quite some time. The same men started coming to her again and again, so we didn't have to move around as much. However, we also didn't eat as much as we could because Axelle often used some of her money to get new clothes for herself. I saw that her new clothing revealed more of her skin than the clothes she used to wear, back when we were in her father's mansion. Sometimes Axelle would purposely remove the collars of her shirt to reveal her developing chest. I simply assumed that such things were part of human mating rituals, though I didn't understand how Axelle didn't end up pregnant.

Occasionally, she would make enough money so I could have whatever fruit I favored at the time. For this, I would be very grateful, but then I'd think of how Axelle got her money. Axelle never seemed to enjoy what she did, which made me feel guilty for having her take care of me.

About a year and a half after she started this mating-for-pay business, she started buying these strange pills. She slowly got addicted to these pills and tried to ingest them in different ways. She would take the pills whole, she would crush them and lick them in her hand, or she would crush them and breathe them in. I was curious about these pills, so I tried to breathe them like she did. It proved to be a huge mistake, as she was very possessive of these pills. Axelle seemed to care less and less about me, so I started to want to take the company of other apes.

I never did befriend another ape while I was in the care of Axelle. She would spend more money on these pills than on my food. Once, when I accompanied her while she asked a strange man for pills, I smacked them out of her hand out of anger. I was very hungry, I was filthy, and I wanted her to stop with these pills. I hated the way it affected her, both physically and mentally.

It had proved to be a huge mistake. Those pills had turned her into something else and, for the first time ever, she hit me. I had wanted so badly to fight back, but I saw how tortured she was. I hoped so badly that she wouldn't turn into her father.

She finally saw that she was not fit to care for me anymore. We had stopped by a port when she removed my slave clothes. I had a feeling that this was the last time I was going to see her. I took one last look so I could imprint her into my memory. Her eyes had dark circles under them, her hair was disheveled, her clothes were pretty dirty, and there was a growing bump on her abdomen. That last detail confused me, as we had not eaten very much. I wondered if she was pregnant.

When no one was looking, she found a cage full of chimpanzees like myself. I looked around, noticing that this harbor was very different from the one I had come in several years ago (I estimate about seven years as I write this, but I have no clue for sure). There were fewer ape children here, as no one was looking for pets anymore. Thanks to Breck, we were slaves now, and I realized I was going to return to that state.

Axelle opened the cage and quickly shoved me in there. She hid before a large man hurriedly closed it, banging on the cage doors to irritate the chimpanzees in my cage. I kept my muzzle against the cage and watched as Axelle spoke to some of the men on a nearby ship. She was swiveling her hips a bit and the men took interest. I watched as one man fondled her rump and she joined them on the ship, being eyed by the rest of the men. I saw her remove her shirt before I turned my attention to a woman and a few men moving our cage.

That was the last time I saw Governor Breck's daughter.


	9. Chapter 9

After shipment, the apes are taken to reconditioning. We were clothed with different uniforms to correspond with our species; chimpanzees had green, orangutans had gold, and gorillas had bright orange. When we were taken to reconditioning, we were assigned a number and our hands were placed in a scanner. At the time, I had no idea what it was for. I just knew that it was capable of emitting light, it squeezed my hands, it made beeping sounds, and pictures of our hands would come out of it.

I tried to remain calm during the entire process, but the cries of some of the apes startled me. The new deliveries were held on leashes and we were guided to various stations, each training us for different work. I took one glance at a group of gorillas being registered into the humans' computer systems before a tall, male human took away my leash and gave me to another human. In front of me were a few chimps, a few gorillas and one orangutan, all being subjected to music played at a high volume. To these apes, it seemed unbearable. However, I must have been partially deafened due to Axelle's tendency to play loud music within a confined space, so this station proved no trouble in terms of distractions.

A human brought me forward to a pitcher of water and a glass. He pointed to a man who was pouring water into an identical glass before he directed my attention to the empty glass in front of me.

"Do."

I clumsily took the pitcher and attempted to pour the water into the thin glass. Some water spilled on the side of the glass, which the man cleaned up with a cloth napkin. The man poured the water back into the pitcher again, making sure I didn't watch this action, lest I mimic it. He then pointed to a man pouring water into a glass before he said the command word again.

"Do."

I attempted the task again, doing a perfect job before a gorilla accidentally bumped into me. I dropped the water pitcher and watched it break, the tiny pieces of glass spreading themselves all over the floor. Some water had gotten onto the man's shoes and he beat us both with the black baton. I ended up growling at that gorilla angrily for getting me into trouble. Now that I recall his face, I remember that he had later received the label as a particularly dangerous ape and ended up under General Aldo's command when Caesar had formed our ape-dominated society. But at that time, I did not know Caesar or Aldo, I had no clue of what was to come, and I hadn't known how humans categorized apes (with the exception of species), so I hadn't thought that remembering this gorilla's face was terribly important unless I needed to know who to growl at on occasion.

A woman took me to another station, preventing this ape and I from getting into a fight. This time, the station only had gorillas. A man spoke to the woman, waving his finger when he mentioned me and that station. I assumed I wasn't going there, which I was thankful for because that station involved fire.

I watched as gorillas tried to avoid the fire and fetch the banana that a human was holding with an extended arm. I had no idea what the use of this was for, so I only watched for a short time before turning my attention to another station with a table. A gorilla was placed on it and the humans cuffed his arms, legs and even his head with metal cuffs. Beside it was a movable control panel of some sort. A human turned a few dials on the control panel and the gorilla shrieked. I turned my eyes away, hoping not to be sent to that torture device.

I was never sent to that building again. Instead, I did most of my basic training outdoors. The humans taught me to properly wash my hands, mop a floor, arrange a mattress, and pour more water into more pitchers. Our training went on for a short time, probably a month or so, and those who performed well enough in training were auctioned off.

If I befriended any ape during that month of training, that bond was quickly severed the day I was sold to Mrs. Donna Riley. I remembered her from Oceane's funeral, which was remarkable on my part, as I hadn't seen her in a number of years and I shouldn't be able to remember human faces so well. She had bid on a few other apes, but others offered a higher price for them, so Mrs. Riley was stuck with me. She was wearing dark clothes and her hair was styled. I soon learned that this was a common thing with her.

Mrs. Riley was driven to her home by a man who received payment for such a service. Behind that man's automobile was another one. That car was nowhere near as nice or as sleek as Mrs. Riley's car, so it was made clear that I was inferior and therefore should not receive nice treatment. I was simply thrown into the car and driven around, not properly strapped down. As a result, I was tossed to the sides of the car every time the driver swerved. This didn't hinder me in any way, as I'm sure Breck's punches hurt more than the injuries I received in that car.

I was escorted inside Mrs. Riley's large house where my new master waited. She thanked the servile woman who had brought me inside and took a good look at me. She grabbed my muzzle and looked at both sides of my face before examining me overall. Mrs. Riley nodded, holding a clipboard, and wrote my new slave name down before she gave the clipboard to the servile woman.

"Lisa."


	10. Chapter 10

I think I worked for Mrs. Riley for about a year. Mrs. Riley didn't give me particularly difficult jobs. I ran basic errands such as cleaning various pieces of basic furniture and fetching different items from different locations. Most of these items were either clothes or books. I had liked fetching items more than basic domestic work, as I wasn't restricted to one building. I could choose the route that led to whatever destination that I was commanded to go to. For some reason, taking joy in various route choices seemed forbidden, which only added to the pleasure I took in it.

Sometimes I would see Governor Breck walking about and wonder if he was concerned with the whereabouts of his daughter. Something about his mannerisms told me that such a topic was the least of his concerns. Whenever I saw him walking by, I would try to hide my face, lest he recognize me. Over time, I learned that apes of the same species look alike to most humans. I still grew anxious whenever Governor Breck was nearby, but then again, so did most apes, so nothing about my actions made me stick out like a sore thumb.

I would spot Mr. MacDonald walking by his side with a somber expression. This expression grew more obvious when an ape was getting beaten by police officers. I didn't know what made him feel empathetic towards apes, only that it would cause a rift between him and Governor Breck. For the most part, I ignored this issue.

I had gained weight and my health improved under Mrs. Riley's watch. I was rewarded for good actions, though Mrs. Riley did not want to be excessive. She never showed any hint of affection, though I wasn't surprised. I expected to be alone in spite of the number of humans that would visit her home daily. One of these humans was Charles, whom Mrs. Riley called her "beau".

I had grown to like Charles. He had gray hair and was slightly pudgy. Hair, thick for a human, but pathetically thin by ape standards covered his arms. On one day, he had sat alone while Mrs. Riley had busied herself with something in another room. I caught myself attempting to groom his arm, causing him to chuckle and stroke my hand. I had assumed that he was grooming the hair there, so I felt a little happy, knowing that a single human was capable of respecting me as an equal. This action was quickly discouraged by Mrs. Riley, who had assigned me on another one of those errands.

One day, I was sent on an errand to pick up a book. Mrs. Riley was getting her hair combed (though at the time, I thought her hair was being _groomed_) in a fancy salon. She sternly told me to leave, giving me a note (I could not yet read) so the human I would later contact would know why I was being sent to the library. I decided to take the quickest path to the library in hopes of being at less risk of police brutality.

I reached my destination and gave my note to the librarian.

"A Young Queen Anne Falls," the librarian said. At the time, I could discern the start and end of a word, but I didn't know what those words meant.

The librarian signed to an orangutan, who fetched a book and gave it to her. She looked at it and frowned.

"No!" she sternly reprimanded before giving me the correct book herself.

After being given the book, I looked outside to see a particularly handsome ape of my species being led by a strange man with a funny voice. This man seemed not to rely on intimidation to control this ape, whom I was already developing feelings for. The man and the ape were passing out fliers that either intrigued or mildly entertained the humans. I smiled a little at the sight of the ape, becoming aware of my more adult emotions.

I saw him again when I was taking an alternate route back to the hair salon. He and I had only glanced at each other for a second and I wondered if he had already taken a liking to me. I blushed a little when he turned away and walked slowly to my destination, giving me more time to think about that mysteriously intelligent individual. For a moment, I had forgotten that I was running an errand in the first place!

When I got back to the hair salon, Mrs. Riley seemed annoyed. I couldn't tell whether this was due to my tardiness or due to an ape named Zelda messing up her hair. Mrs. Riley had already started arguing with the salon lady when the strange man and his ape came into the salon, giving the salon lady fliers. The ape and I made eye contact and I had blushed furiously. I examined him for a moment and thought that he would make a good Alpha Male. This only strengthened my attraction.

Some time that day, I had heard the strange man with the funny voice refer to his ape as "Caesar".


	11. Chapter 11

Some days or weeks later, Mrs. Riley had sent me to an unfamiliar building. I was sure that I had passed it several times, but I had never entered it. Mrs. Riley didn't accompany me on my way to the building (which I later learned was the Breeding Annex). Instead, she simply signed a form and asked a man to drive me there. My master's boyfriend, Charles, was there. He gave me some raisins as a gift before we were both sent off to our respective destinations.

At the building, I was led down a long corridor before being assigned a private room. Along the way, I saw glass cages with baby apes in them. I sighed, thinking that these apes belonged with their mothers and remembering my own mother's brutal death. I thought of the baby my mother was pregnant with and of my sister, who must have been enslaved as well by now. I also thought of Axelle, but only briefly.

I was left alone in that room, wondering why I was brought there. I thought maybe Mrs. Riley had grown tired of me, which I wouldn't have minded, had there not been the risk of being sold to a more brutal owner like Governor Breck. I thought of Mr. MacDonald as well, how kindly he had treated the apes under his supervision, and thought that I wouldn't mind encountering him again. His face was gentler than most humans, as far as I recall.

After some time, a man in a tan suit brought Caesar to my room. I felt myself changing my pose to that of a more alluring one, though I didn't know why. This must have been the urge my mother felt upon mating with my father (who I know was the alpha male. Most chimpanzees don't know their father). Caesar looked at me and at the man again, shrugging before entering the room with me.

I pulled my legs back, making room for this handsome male on my bed. He nodded at me politely, rubbing his neck and looking around before muttering human speech. I felt my heart thump against the strong bones that formed my ribcage. Never before had I heard an ape mimic human speech!

I put my fingers on his throat, wondering how he was making those sounds. He looked at me, at first with surprise and then with amusement. When he chuckled, I placed my fingers on his throat again, feeling his vocal cords move. Caesar gently held my hand and moved it away.

"Lisa," he said, reading my name tag. He looked up at me and pointed at me. "Lisa."

I patted my own chest, indicating that I knew he was referring to me. He seemed to smile before he pointed to himself, placing my hands on his chest after.

"Caesar," he said, patting my hands onto his chest. "Caesar."

I nodded, pushing my finger on one of the buttons for the uniform he was wearing. He placed a hand on the side of my head, stroking my hair and comforting me. After we were both certain that no one was watching, we removed our uniforms. It felt much like removing hand cuffs off of one's wrists, at least for me. Caesar seemed embarrassed by his own nakedness, though I didn't mind much.

I positioned myself for mating and Caesar seemed very confused as to what to do. I tried not to show any sign of amusement; instead, I showed him pre-copulation intimate gestures. He seemed to understand what I was hinting at and, moments later, he also seemed all the more willing, which was a great relief to me.

After copulation, we were both a little tired, so we rested on the bed. He started muttering strange words to himself and I tried to understand them, to no avail. In the end, he just cuddled with me. At the time, I thought that was the last time I would ever be in close, intimate contact with another one of my kind.

We only had a moment together because a man dressed Caesar and brought him out. I was quickly checked over by a veterinarian (who was seeing whether or not I had gotten pregnant). Some time later, it was confirmed that I had not yet conceived, so I was sent back to my master. I hoped that I would be sent to the Breeding Annex more often, just so I could see those cute little chimp babies.

And Caesar.

Some time later, Mrs. Riley brought me to some place near the Central Plaza. There were a few rows of chairs reserved for the humans; apes had to stand. Mrs. Riley brought Charles along, which made me mildly content. Before they had completely set up for the auction (which I remembered from last year), Mrs. Riley and Charles had started up a conversation about Governor Breck. Though I did not understand much, I learned that Charles was somehow affiliated with that cruel man.

After everyone had been seated, the apes were brought out. A gorilla and an orangutan were sold before I noticed my mate brought out on a leash. I struggled not to jump in excitement at the sight of a familiar ape face. He glanced at me, not indicating that he recognized me, and I started to pout. Mrs. Riley glared at me momentarily before she paid attention to the auction.

The dark-skinned human finally brought him up to an elevated pedestal, dropping a pair of hand-cuffs along the way. Caesar promptly assisted the man, picking up the cuffs and handing them to him before standing on the pedestal. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Governor Breck lean forward, fascinated by Caesar.

Several humans started to shout numbers, attempting to lay claim to Caesar. By the end of it, Mr. MacDonald shouted the highest number, thus acquiring Caesar as his slave. I wasn't sure whether I should be relieved that Caesar would be under MacDonald's gentle gaze or if Caesar would fall victim to Governor Breck's beatings.

My heart sank that day. I may no longer have bruises, but I still have all the memories.


	12. Chapter 12

Some time after Caesar became Governor Breck's slave, I was sent to work at the Command Post. Mrs. Riley noticed that I became better at organizing papers with strange marks on them (which I later learned were letters) than I was at other domestic work. In any case, Mrs. Riley had bought another slave at that auction, whom Mrs. Riley had named Janet. Janet was a hard-working orangutan who outperformed me in certain duties that Mrs. Riley expected me to carry out. Once. Charles brought Governor Breck to visit the house. I attempted to hide from him, but Mrs. Riley reprimanded me, slapping my arm for my disobedience. Governor Breck did not recognize me, which provided some relief. Mrs. Riley must have made a deal with Governor Breck, as I soon found myself working at the Command Post part time.

The two best parts about working at the Command Post were the general lack of corporal punishment and the fact that Caesar was also sent to work there. I had worked there for a few days before Caesar was assigned there. During this time, I learned that Caesar was able to interpret the letters humans scribbled on their papers, which must have contained vital information. The other apes were puzzled by Caesar's tendency to stare at the files given to him, but they somehow knew not to draw attention to him. Caesar and I worked closely together here, so we had a relatively substantial amount of time to bond.

I knew Caesar was looking out for me. For instance, he saw that I had incorrectly filed some papers. He shook his head and looked around before he switched the files, putting them in their correct place. A human inspector checked our work and rewarded us with raisins for our work. Caesar breathed a sigh of relief and rubbed my back gently. We returned to our work, exchanging only eye contact sporadically.

Whenever one of us was sent out on an errand outside the Command Post, the one who remained would pat the other's back. It was good that the humans didn't notice, otherwise they could have used us as pawns to play against each other. The one thing slave-owning humans hated was ape solidarity.

Somehow, Caesar had learned to communicate with nonverbal apes with glances, slight nods, and facial expressions. This method of communication went undetected by the humans, which largely accounted for his success. During that time, I thought he would most certainly make an ideal Alpha Male, as he knew how to build strong alliances.

Once, I had picked up another book for Mrs. Riley when I encountered Caesar. We were in an alley that I had passed through several times before. We simply exchanged eye contact before I felt the urge to throw the book on the ground. I lightly tossed it to the side, not caring if the pages ended up bent or soiled somehow. Caesar nodded at me, letting me know that I was doing something right.

Caesar then took out a piece of paper and a pen, careful not to let anyone see him use them. I've delivered written messages before, not that I knew what they said, and I assumed that Caesar was doing this so I wouldn't return to Mrs. Riley empty-handed. He then gave the paper to me, rubbing my shoulders to comfort me, and then left to incite disobedience in the other apes.

Once I had returned to my master, she saw that, instead of a book, I gave her a note. She scanned the letters and grimaced. Charles was there, so Mrs. Riley didn't express any aggression toward me. Mrs. Riley stuffed the note in her pocket and grabbed her purse, dragging me with her out of the door.

She quickly walked the path I had taken to get back to her house. I started to fret, hoping that Mrs. Riley would not see the book that I had tossed in the alley. Somehow, she remained oblivious to it, despite that she had stepped only ten feet away from it. My heart rate increased during moments like those.

Mrs. Riley had argued with the librarian there, frightening the other apes. Trying to distract myself, I looked outside and saw Caesar staring at a gorilla. The gorilla then tossed over a garbage can, jumping on the disposed items. Two policemen dragged him away, inciting fear in him, though that wasn't enough to stop the gorilla from fighting back. Caesar watched from a distance and did not see me.

I found more slips of paper, some with writing already on them, and decided to slip them into my pocket. I thought it would be a good idea to give them to Caesar so he could scribble more messages, thus sparing his rebellious ape followers from the fists and whips of their masters. Luckily enough, Mrs. Riley excused me with two words.

"Home, Lisa."

I left, trying to find Caesar's hiding place. He had taken refuge in an old basement, its door sporting an orange diamond with a black X across it. Apes weren't allowed to go here, but Caesar was blatantly breaking this rule. This encouraged me to do so as well and I met him down there.

"Lisa?" he asked, rubbing the sides of my arms.

I took out the pieces of paper that I stole from the library. After I gave them to Caesar, he closely examined them, separating the blank sheets from the ones with writing. He took the ones already written on and added some things to them before handing them back to me. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a male gorilla hiding in the shadows, watching the interactions between Caesar and I. I assumed that Caesar was protecting the gorilla.

"Supply store," Caesar pronounced slowly, carefully enunciating so I would understand. "Bring the things they give you _here_."

He pointed to the ground when he said that last word. He then squeezed my hand affectionately before I was sent off to the store. It had turned out that someone had accidentally left their shopping list at the library, I had happened to pick it up, and Caesar took advantage of it. I had did as he told me, giving the unneeded supplies to another messenger ape. I decided to head back to Mrs. Riley's, thinking about the events of that day with worry.

I had unwittingly helped Caesar set up an underground network to serve as the basis for a rebellion.


	13. Chapter 13

The simple actions Caesar and I had performed that day gave hope to the other apes. Somehow, the others had picked up on what we were doing. Those working in restaurants brought in knives and others brought in various domestic items like matches. Some brought in notes like I did. Caesar would have different apes organize the bootleg items and he would personally edit the lists that apes brought from their masters. I engaged in much of this activity, though I would ponder the morality of it.

I took behind a pillar near the staircase leading back up to the human world. In this room where, despite only humans being allowed here, no human would dare go, several apes were observing Caesar. Caesar was editing a list and he decided to add "two gallons of kerosene" to it. I discovered that I was learning more and more of the humans' language. I spent my time here eavesdropping on Caesar's mumbling.

"Repaired Kolt," Caesar said. "And... two rounds of ammunition."

Despite my increasing feelings for him, I didn't want to stand close to him. I would see the expressions on his face when he examined the weapons his underlings brought to him and inexplicably start to fear him. I didn't understand why I feared him. I was among those he was trying to save. I had helped him (though inadvertently) set this up. We had comforted each other under the watchful eyes of the cruel masters. I had become his love. Why would I have any reason to fear him?

I hid from him, thinking about a moment in which he heard of someone's death. I later learned that it was about Armando, the man who cared deeply for him, but at the time, I thought he was feeling concern for an ape friend. I had held him, showing him that I felt his pain. After all, I had seen my mother die right before my eyes. We had shared something.

That day, he had changed. His hatred for humans grew and this energy fed the other apes. I had assumed that none of these apes remembered any compassionate human. I stood alone in that room, thinking of two humans that had shown me kindness: Oceane and Axelle. Us three had a common enemy, but I had lost my two human allies. I peeked over at Caesar, who must have suffered immensely at the hands of Governor Breck. I wondered if Mr. MacDonald was giving him any sort of protection.

Caesar grabbed the nozzle of the gas tank and a lighter. He placed the lighter in front of the gas nozzle, turned on the gas, and clicked the lighter. Fire spouted from the nozzle, making the apes shriek with amazement. I studied the fire closely, thinking of the humans in Ape Management conditioning apes to fire. I remembered their cruel, hairless faces. As the apes cheered, Caesar was nodding to everyone. I shivered with fear at what we were to become, not to mention I feared getting caught.

Soon enough, Caesar ordered the apes all to go "home". They reluctantly left and Caesar made sure they exited our headquarters in intervals so as not to arouse suspicion. As I watched them leave, I wondered if any of them were unsure of what was to happen. I felt alone in these worries and slid down the pillar. None of the apes seemed to notice me sitting there, helpless to my own complex psyche.

Finally, everyone was gone but Caesar. I was close to crying and inadvertently let out a whimper, alerting him. He searched the room, finding my location, and sighed.

"Lisa," he murmured. "What happened?"

I simply felt frustration when I couldn't express my thoughts. I started to rock there and he knelt down, patting my head. Caesar adjusted himself so he could sit by me and put his arm around me, pulling me close to him. I breathed in deeply, taking in the scent of the male I had come to fear and love. I had never before felt this combination of emotions, so it was starting to overwhelm me. He kissed my forehead. I couldn't decide whether I wanted to wrap my arms around him in affection or push him away and run home before my master got mad at me.

I chose the latter.

I got up and ran up the stairs, stopping right before the door. I turned around and looked at Caesar's expression. His mouth was slightly open, his eyes expressing hurt, and his overall expression showing confusion and rejection. He must have thought that I didn't love him.

"Lisa?"

Damn him for making me feel guilty.

The entire situation was overwhelming me, so I ran out the door and into the night, trying to increase the distance between Caesar and myself. As I got closer to open space, where I saw human guards conversing with one another, I turned around and saw the door to our headquarters open. Caesar was staring at me, but he didn't follow me, which I was grateful for. I slowly made my way back to the house of my master, where I was sure to receive punishment for being so late.

Some time later, Caesar and I saw each other again at the Command Post. We were both sent as messengers, so when he got the chance, he took me aside where no humans were watching. I noticed that the headquarter door was nearby.

"Lisa," he said when he pulled me close, stroking the hair near my ear. "I'm sorry. Do you understand?"

Strangely enough, I did, and I nodded. I wanted to cry, but not in front of him, so I went back to the task one of the humans had assigned me. I didn't want to be punished in any case and I'm sure that Caesar understood this. He walked in the opposite direction, completing his task, or so I thought.

One day, I was working with Caesar in the Command Post when MacDonald got a phone call from whom I assumed was Governor Breck. I was organizing small files when I overheard parts of the conversation.

"Want... Caesar? Am I... understand... he... on... Ah-keel-ees list? No... just... I sent him... errand, ...back shortly," MacDonald said.

I looked over at Caesar, who seemed to understand everything MacDonald was saying. Just then, a man was yelling at me.

"No! These go under _Traffic Control!" screamed the man, shoving the cards into my hard forcefully.  
_

"Easy, they can't read," said another man.

"Not yet, they can't!"

I hobbled over to the place for my task, listening to MacDonald escorting him out. Whatever it was that Governor Breck wanted, I hoped that MacDonald would protect him from it. I kept working vigorously, hoping for Caesar to come back. Governor Breck probably wanted to torture him (or kill him). If Caesar ended up getting badly injured or dead, I would live with the guilt for making him think I didn't love him. I sighed, thinking that maybe Caesar was being sent out on another errand and that I was overreacting.

Our work day came to a conclusion (though some still had night shifts) and Caesar still didn't come back. I thought that maybe he was hiding in our headquarters, so I immediately searched for him there. I waited around, seeing other apes come in, searching for their leader. We were all fretting when we noticed that Caesar hadn't come for a few hours. Some started to lose hope, others started getting agitated, and two gorillas started to fight each other. I had broken them up to maintain peace, but I knew only Caesar's presence would unify the group of apes waiting for him down here.

Finally, he came through the door. He was not the same gentle Caesar that I knew. The humans did something to him; I could see it in the way that he clenched his jaws, the way his breath came out with a slight snarl, and the way his eyes glared at everyone before him, demanding reverence. We all looked up at our leader.

"Lisa!" he demanded.

Those who did not notice him before gave a frightened grunt when they heard him speak. Knowing that he wanted me, I went up to the stairs. When I was finally by his side, the rest seemed to revere me as the mate of this Alpha Male. I was filled with fear.

He turned me to him and I saw his expression soften. I looked into his eyes and I saw marks on his forehead. I had seen those marks on gorillas who had been electrocuted before; they always put the head collar on too tight. It was no wonder he was filled with fury for the humans now. His eyes softened in front of me and he placed a hand on my cheek.

"Go... Command Post," he whispered to me. "The rebellion starts tonight."

We looked at each other and I struggled to fathom the possible danger Caesar was putting everyone in, including himself. He must have thought that I would be safe in the Command Post. I started to worry for my tortured lover.

"In case I die tonight," he said, as if reading my mind. "I love you."

He kissed me and I held him for a minute before I left to the Command Post, where I would be waiting for him.


	14. Chapter 14

I worked in the Command Post as usual, though I was always waiting for the sound of gunshots. Governor Breck and Mr. MacDonald were watching a small television. There were some words muttered about an intelligent ape on the loose. Shortly after, Governor Breck started to curse, unnerving every ape in the room. I grinned at a fellow chimpanzee, who seemed to also know what was coming. I turned away before a slave-master could see my expression and pretended to do work, counting down the minutes until Caesar would lead his forces to this room.

On the t.v. screen, humans were warning other humans and instructing them to stay in their homes. It switched to clips of apes running through the plaza and humans repeatedly saying "stop," "no," and "home." The apes went forward anyway. I could hear apes and humans shrieking outside and shivered, wondering which side was winning. It took a few hours, from what I remember, for the apes to make it down to the Command Post. Finally, I heard a sharp, loud noise coming from the door and saw sparks coming from the metal. The apes all looked at the sight with hope.

"What?!" Governor Breck shrieked. "Don't have... intelligence... such tools!"

A part of the door fell down and Caesar used the gun against a few humans. This encouraged the other apes to start attacking their masters. Both bullets and paper were flying, causing everyone confusion, and I fell down from a desk. I hit the side of my head on a desk corner and put my hand to the wound. It was bleeding.

A couple of apes grabbed Mr. MacDonald, but Caesar told them to let him go. I sighed in relief when Caesar showed Mr. MacDonald this bit of mercy. Caesar walked up to me and saw my wound, noticing it wasn't serious. He nodded at me, showing me that he was glad I was okay, and wrapped an arm around me. He took me to the front of the room, where Governor Breck was held down by a number of gorillas. The anger on his face was undeniable.

"The King is dead!" Caesar shouted. "Long live the king."

_What's a king?_

"...Breck, before you die," Caesar said while I only caught snippets of his speech. "Why... you turn us... from pets to slaves?"

Those last words made me remember when I changed from a pampered companion to a machine of labor. That was terrifying.

"Your kind... our ancestors," Breck said.

_An-sest-orz. I have to remember that one._

"Man.. born... ape... ape... still curled up... inside... man," Breck continued. "Beast in us... whip... into sub-mish-un."

_What is this guy saying?! Humans and apes aren't the same thing! I don't understand!_

"You taint us, Caesar," Breck concluded. "You poison our guts."

_I don't recall apes using poisons in the rebellion. When did I learn that word anyway? Am I the only ape, other than Caesar, that is starting to understand the human language? Who made me smarter? Who made _Caesar_ smarter? What _is_ all this?_

"When we hate you, we're hating the dark side of ourselves."

I cringed at Breck's statement, as did Caesar. I remembered Caesar's face when he looked at the weapons and when he returned from whatever torture he was subjected to. Apes weren't the dark side of humans; humans implant their darkness into apes! I did not want Caesar to become human.

We brought him outside for his execution. Buildings were on fire and its smoke polluted my nostrils. My head still had dry blood on it. I looked around and saw that the apes were eager to pound Governor Breck to death. Caesar was slightly crouched, his face fixed with a scowl, and he was prepared to speak. MacDonald was standing a short distance away from him, shivering despite the heat from the fire. Caesar was about to order the apes to kill Governor Breck when MacDonald stopped him.

"Caesar... Caesar!" he called. "Not... meant to be!"

"...your view?" Caesar asked. "Or mine?"

The apes were simply gazing at Caesar. Did they understand anything he said?

"Violence prolongs hate, hate prolongs violence," MacDonald replied. "...what right... you spill... blood?"

The night sky contrasted with the brightness of the fire, which made Caesar's conspiring figure all the more frightening. I looked at Governor Breck, remembering when I saw him in that light, and for a moment, I could not tell the two leaders apart. I thought maybe smoke was getting into my eyes.

"...slave's right... punisher," Caesar said.

"I... deh-send-ent of slaves... ask... you... show humanity!"

_What does MacDonald mean?! _For a second, I thought I saw MacDonald's face turning more apelike. I looked back at Caesar, who was appearing more and more human. I shivered.

"...I... not born human."

"...Child... evolved apes," said MacDonald.

_Evolved apes? What is he talking about?_ I wondered if this "evolved" concept attributed to his ability to speak in a human manner.

"Children... rule the earth!"

Caesar and MacDonald kept exchanging dialogue and, during this time, I could still tell them apart. The smoke was starting to sting my eyes, causing me to tear up had not the frightening quality of all this not done so already. I regressed back into that child ape that held onto my mother and sought out my sister and feared the humans with their guns. None of the other apes seemed to show the same fear. What is wrong with me?

"When there is fire, there is smoke," Caesar said.

_Well, duh._

"And in that smoke, from this day forward, my people will crouch and conspire and plot and plan."

_I wish I knew what these words are so I would know exactly what this chimp wants from us and from the humans. Oh, how I wish I knew!_

"For the inevitable day of Man's downfall!" Caesar continued, saying more words that I didn't quite catch due to my attempts to control my own fear. "The sea is a dead sea and the land is a wasteland!"

I imagined the deforestation that occurred in my homeland before I was shipped to this city. Did Caesar intend for human children to lose their mothers like I lost mine? What did I help set up through those notes he had edited? What did I sign myself up for?

"I will lead my people out of their captivity!" he said. "We... build our own cities... no place for humans... serve our ends! We... found... own armies... religion... own dynasty. And that day is upon you... NOW!"

I started to cry for MacDonald and for whatever kind human would suffer at the hands of this ape. Caesar became more and more human in appearance as the smoke stung my eyes. I looked at Governor Breck and Mr. MacDonald before I looked at Caesar again. He looked like an intermediate form of those two humans; he looked like he had less hair, his posture was completely erect, and his face had a semi-sadistic scowl. What had he become?

I had to stop him right there. I couldn't just attack him; I had to resort to the means both Caesar and the humans have: speech. If I could understand some, why couldn't I use it?

"N-n-no..." I struggled, straining my tongue and my vocal cords. "No!"

The human-like features on Caesar had disappeared. He looked at me dead in the eye and nodded slightly, sighing.

"But now... put away... hatred," he spoke again softly. "...put down... weapons... Night of the Fires... our masters... now our servants... not human... be humane... he be dominated with compassion... understanding... cast out..."

He then raised up a little bit, making his voice louder and clearer. "Tonight, we have seen the birth of the Planet of the Apes!"

* * *

**I should have made a disclaimer before stating that some of the dialogue was in the original movie, thus it was not written by me.**

**Anyone read Animal Farm before? I wanted to make an allusion to it.**


	15. Chapter 15

I stop here. This is the last that I will write. I do not want to think of what happened after the Ape Revolution. The destruction of the now Forbidden City is too much and I would rather focus on what's happening now. I end up thinking of Cornelius's short life for a moment.

I was glad that Caesar ended up staying out longer than usual. The parents of Jimmy and Faustina have calmed down since I started writing this portion of my life. It took me quite a bit of time to complete this log. I decide to get out of the house, maybe talk to Virgil or Mandemus. Virgil was always kind and cheerful and, in Bruce MacDonald's words, he "knows everything about everything."

I pass by a family of chimpanzees. The two parents, Cloelia and Ennius, sit together eating fruits while their children play some sort of imaginary game. I remember Cornelius and Jimmy playing war together and how worried I was when I thought Cornelius actually got hurt. Cloelia spots me.

"Queen Lisa," she says, as many are calling me lately. "I'm sorry for your loss."

I smile weakly. "Thank you for your concern. How are your children?"

Cloelia points to the oldest one. "Gaius is growing quickly." She then points to the younger one. "Little Aelia there is jealous of him because of it."

I remember both Cloelia and Ennius from when I was a slave. Cloelia was once Zelda, who worked at a hair salon, and Ennius was once Ben, who worked at the old Command Post. Ennius goes to reprimand Gaius for something and I focus on Virgil and Mandemus discussing something. Caesar is with them, I notice. There are a few gorillas with him. Nearby, I see Abe giving a lesson to ape and human children. Their lessons should be almost over, I think.

That night, Caesar and I rest in our shared bed. He lies in a supine position and I sit on the edge, looking outside at the trees. Ants climb on the trunk of one of them and crawl into a small hole. I got off the bed and grabbed a small stick, walking up to the window and poking it through the hole of the tree. If my sister were here, she would still be playfully jealous of me. I take the stick out and see it covered with ants. I guess I still have the skill.

I drop the stick on the ground below and look at the path of trees. I smile, thinking that I could swing from tree to tree and get to the outside of this small Ape Town. I don't know where I plan to go from there.

I climb onto the edge of the window and reach out for a sturdy tree branch. I leap and grab it, causing it to shake a little, and I swing to another branch in front of me. I spy another tree with a sturdy branch and leap for it, almost losing my grip when I grab it. I steady myself and proceed when I hear branches of another tree shake.

"Lisa?"

I look back. Caesar doesn't seem quite used to climbing trees. I turn around and wait for him to catch up. It takes him a bit of time, but he gets to where I am now. I chuckle a little bit.

"Have you ever actually been an ape?" I joke.

He gives me a serious look. I stroke his muzzle before looking up, seeing the numerous stars. He looks up too and strokes my arm. I sigh.

"In all seriousness, Caesar," I say. "Have you spent any time up in a tree, swinging from branch to branch, communicating in only embraces?"

Caesar breathes in. "I admit I have not. I was a circus ape and then a slave."

"No life before you met a human?" I ask. I lean against his chest.

"No."

We both look back at the house. There are several papers in there. I know Caesar has been working on the Great Ape Equality Statutes since Aldo has died. There are probably a few documents about new law proposals and education requirements. There are still a few fruit from that basket that Heather gave us this morning. Our bed is now unmade and no one is home. We look back at the star-filled sky.

"Is this not a planet of the apes?" I ask.

Caesar chuckles. I hold his hand.

"Then why not we be apes?"

We smiled at each other. Before I knew it, we were leaping from tree to tree, I faster than him. He was still practicing his leaps and swings, but he soon became accustomed to it. We were both swinging from branch to branch, making a lot of noise. Pretty soon, we were both hooting like apes, and I'm pretty sure we were waking up some humans. Neither of us cared because, for once, we were really relishing one thing that had been taken away from me when I first entered this country: liberty.

Liberty on the planet of the apes.


End file.
